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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160784">The Gifted and Talented Program</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robyn2411/pseuds/Robyn2411'>Robyn2411</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anatomy, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders &amp; Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Are Twins, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Google translate was used, Languages, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, but I did have help with french, so apologies if there’s some incorrect languages, so we should be all good there</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:28:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,088</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28160784</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robyn2411/pseuds/Robyn2411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After stories of six young boys with extra ordinary talents circled the internet, the creators behind the Gifted and Talented Program sought these boys out under the pretences of bringing them to their full potential. </p><p>However, what if there’s more to their claim then meets the eye?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders &amp; Logic | Logan Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Where It All Began</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Romano, ¿Por qué estamos haciendo esto? (Roman, why are we doing this?)” Remus could only look up at the building that would house them for the next six months. It didn’t seem too strange. Three stories stood like stocks sending them to their death - or at least that’s what Remus saw. Neither twin had been held in one place for very long, they had been moving from country to country ever since birth. Six months was eons for them to stay in one country; never mind one house. </p><p>“Porque mamá dice que tenemos que. No nos quedamos en un lugar el tiempo suficiente. (Because Mom says we have to. We don’t stay in one place long enough.)” Roman rolled his eyes, he enjoyed his freedom. Now he was going to be stuck going to school with a bunch of talented nerds. </p><p>What was the point? Both twins had guaranteed jobs as translators for literally any world leader you could think of. </p><p>“¿Se da cuenta de que tiene genios para los hijos? (Does she realise she has geniuses for sons?)” Remus shared the same sentiment. </p><p>“Non, je ne pense pas qu’elle l’a realisé. (No I don’t think she does)” Their Mom has never seemed amazed at her sons’s special abilities to retain language after language after language. </p><p>“Seulement parce qu’elle ne sait que trois langues... (Just because she only knows two languages...)” To say their parents had lived in 28 countries, they didn’t seem to make as much of an attempt to learn the languages, under the pretence that they would be moving soon- so there was no point. Yet both their children seemed to become fluent within a matter of months.  That, and more. </p><p>After being let in by an older man at the door, the twins settled down in the spacious living room, tired from the long pathway to the house from the drive way, as they watched more boys around the same age as them enter. </p><p>The man from the door eventually stepped into the room when all six boys were sat down, he looked around at them with a smile and spoke, “Hey guys, I’m Mr Sanders, but you can all call me Thomas. We all spoke over the phone a few weeks ago when you received your placement here. I’m going to be looking after you while you are here, making sure you don’t set the house on fire.” The man laughed, and out of curtesy most of the boys followed suit, “Go ahead and introduce yourselves, no need to be humble- I assure you all have exceptional skills for people of your ages. Logan? Do you want to go first?”</p><p>“Alright. My name is Logan Elderberry. I’m 17 years old. And I can calculate any equation in my head without much thou-“</p><p>“What’s 738 X 618?” A boy lounging across the couch jumped in, looking down at his nails in disinterest. </p><p>“456,084. Very funny.” Logan said within milliseconds. </p><p>“Okay, since you’re so eager- Janus, you next?” Thomas pointed to the boy who had spoke.</p><p>“Fine, I’m Janus Cobran. I’ll be 18 in two weeks and I can argue anything.” Janus Catherine-wheeled his legs off of the arm of the chair to stand up.</p><p>“That’s a skill?” Remus tilted his head to the side, clearly confused. He could argue for days with Roman about socks if he wanted to- doesn’t mean it’s his skill. </p><p>“It is when you can convince a lawyer with twenty years under his belt that you can do a better job.” Janus’s expression turned smug.</p><p>“Fair enough.” Remus put his hands up in defence. </p><p>“Okay I guess we’re going off who’s next to talk. Remus?” Thomas said.</p><p>Remus jumped up, pulling Roman up with him. His twin was clearly startled and had to reach out it balance himself on his brothers shoulder. </p><p>“And Roman too I guess.” Thomas said.</p><p>“Well Roman and I’s talents are interlinked- like we were in the womb.” Remus wrapped his arm around his twin. </p><p>“TMI Remus, anyway... I’m fluent in 43 languages.” </p><p>“And I’m fluent in 42.”</p><p>“I can play 11 instruments professionally.” </p><p>“And I know human anatomy better than most doctors. I know that if I shot you right... there-“ Remus said, pointing at a specific point on Logan’s face, much to the boy’s dismay, “You would be killed instantly.” </p><p>“That’s disconcerting.” Logan crosses his eyes to meet Remus’s finger.</p><p>“Well do you know how to speak-“ An emo -looking boy from across the room spoke up before being interrupted. </p><p>“Yes/Probably.” The twins overlapped each other in their haste to stop the boy.</p><p>“I didn’t even ask you-“ He continued.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter.” Roman said. </p><p>“We’ve always been able to. And if we can’t, we’ll learn it.” Remus said.</p><p>“The last five languages I’ve learnt have been out of spite. So are you sure you want to continue?” Roman leaned forward to gauge the emo’s answer. </p><p>“Uhhh... do you know how to speak Norwegian? It’s where my Grandma is from.” He said tentatively. </p><p>The twins looked at each other, grinning.</p><p>“Jeg vet ikke, Remus, kan vi snakke norsk? (I don’t know, Remus, can we speak Norwegian?)” Roman said.</p><p>“Jeg vet ikke kjære bror. (I don’t know dear brother)” Remus answered, clearly enjoying himself.</p><p>“Noted. Wait. I have to go next, don’t I?” The emo looked over to Thomas as he nodded solemnly, “Fine. I’m Virgil Ivanov. 19. And I know 17 different styles of combat.” </p><p>Logan looked back and forth between Remus and Virgil, eyes wide, ”I suddenly feel unsafe to be the one sat between these two.“</p><p>“Virgil, if you were to have a gun-“ Remus started.</p><p>“I’ve known you for two minutes and there is no way I’m giving you a gun.” Virgil said with a blank stare towards the twin who spoke.</p><p>“So you’re saying you can get one.” Remus pointed out with a smirk on his face.</p><p>“... I never said that.” </p><p>“Let’s not go any further into that conversation... Patton, you’re the only one left.” Thomas reaches his hand out to the boy yet to speak.</p><p>“Oh... well. I suddenly feel like mine is kinda lacklustre...” Patton squirmed in his seat, suddenly shy with all the attention on him.</p><p>“Patton, you wouldn’t be here if it was.” Thomas assures him.</p><p>“Well... I can cook?” Patton said, although it sounded much more like a question than he intended.</p><p>“Patton here can cook to the standard of a five star chef, I think that’s a bit more than just being able to cook.” </p><p>“Score! That is literally so much better than any of these nerds’ talents.” Remus suddenly jumped up and made a fist in achievement.</p><p>“Remus!” Roman pulled his twin back down to the couch. </p><p>“What?! It’s basically free amazing food, what you’d rather be a calculator human?! ... no offence Logan.” Remus said.</p><p>“None taken.” Logan nodded. </p><p>“Well, anyway, now that we’ve all finished- it’s time to choose rooms, so you’ll be in pair-“ Thomas was cut off by the twins. </p><p>“Dibs on the biggest room!” The twins shouted out in sync. </p><p>“Actually, Roman Remus, your mom suggested that you should be in separate rooms.” Thomas explained.</p><p>“B-but we’ve always shared a room. Even when we lived in that five bedroom house in Malta.” Remus said, looking to his twin as they both nodded in unison. </p><p>“Well, perhaps it’s time to branch out.” </p><p>After much deliberation, the twins finally conceded to being separated for the night, and so Roman was roomed with Logan, Remus with Virgil- if only because he thought it might raise the chances of getting to hold a gun, and so Patton and Janus were left with the final room. </p><p>Each boy only held with him a bag of things they brought from home, or in the twin’s sake from their last house, so it didn’t take very long to unpack. Clothing and toiletries were already supplied so they only needed things like their phones and chargers and extra things. </p><p>They all took a small walk around the house, meeting several common rooms, a dining room, a kitchen and the biggest back yard you’d ever imagine. </p><p>Roman was enchanted with the grand piano in one of the common rooms not too far from his and Logan’s shared room. He had thought maybe he’d have to ask for something, being the one of the two out of the six to need something physical to enact one of his talents. </p><p>Patton was enamoured with the kitchen at first glance. It reminded him of one of the restaurants he had had a competition in against a famous chef once- which he had won.  </p><p>Eventually, as it grew late, the boys had to go to their dorms for the night, having all arrived late afternoon. </p><p>Patton was disappointed to not be the one who cooked dinner but the food tasted good so he wasn’t going to complain. </p><p>All was quiet in the house until Logan heard a small moment of movement over his shoulder, coming from the boy sat upright in the other bed.  </p><p>Eventually, said boy stalked his way over chilled floorboards to shake his roommate slightly.</p><p>“Logan? Are you awake?” Roman leaned over the other boy’s bed, he was back lit from the light of the window- creating an almost ethereal glow around him. For a second, Logan though he might be imagining his hand coming closer towards him. It was only when Roman started shaking him did he realise he was awake. “I can’t sleep.”</p><p>“What?” Logan said, still half under but rolling over to face the other boy head on.</p><p>“I know it seems stupid.” Roman looked sullen, close to tears even, although that was probably heightened by the reflection of the moon on his irises.</p><p>“I never said that... what is it? I can’t imagine you’d be home sick.” Logan said, rubbing his eyes. </p><p>Roman chuckled quietly, “No. it’s not that. Can I sit down?”</p><p>Logan nodded, patting a space on his quilt and pushing himself up to rest against the wall by the side of his bed. </p><p>“You know how Remus said we’ve always shared a room?” Logan nodded again, “Well, he wasn’t joking. I know we’re sixteen and we should be able to be separated for one night but... we just never have.” </p><p>Roman started fiddling with the blanket strewn over Logan’s bed. </p><p>“It started back when we were adopted. Maybe even before then. Remus and I were born in Catalonia, Spain but we were moved all over Europe for the first few years of our lives. Ironically it was because we wouldn’t speak.” Roman smiled at the far off memories, “The social workers didn’t know what to do with us. We were five years old and had never even said a word- they feared splitting us up would make it worse. Speech therapy was too expensive...</p><p>But, what they didn’t know was that while we were being moved around so many countries and cultures, we were interacting with so many different people. And- even though we never spoke them- those languages embedded themselves in our heads. </p><p>So by the time our parents adopted us and took us home to live in England with them, we knew the ins and outs of half of Europe and it’s dialects. Soon enough English was added to the list as well.” </p><p>“So you didn’t even speak until you were five?” Logan asked, now fully awake.</p><p>“Six actually. Our parents had us see a therapist and eventually we spoke. For Remus and I, I don’t know why but... speaking anything but English became our little secret. We thought we’d be punished for it so we kept it to ourselves. </p><p>This is the relevant bit by the way. At night we spoke in as many languages as we knew back and forth until we fell asleep. Every day. For the past ten years. It’s gotten pretty insane recently, I have to cycle through at least twenty before feeling satiated.”</p><p>“So by not doing that, you can’t fall asleep?” Logan frowned slightly- surely the people behind the program should know about this. </p><p>“Exactly.” Roman looked down solemnly.</p><p>“Am... am I the first person you’ve told about this?” Logan shuffled closer to the shorter boy. </p><p>“Oh no, our dad found us doing it when we were eight. That’s how anyone even knows that we’re ‘special’. If he hadn’t I still don’t think we would’ve told anyone. Our dad was so impressed that we started travelling around the world to see if we could pick up even more. He’s a tv show host back in England so we got paid to film our trips. I do sometimes wonder what my world would look like if no one ever found out. I’d probably still be back in England.” Roman gazed wistfully out of the window, thinking of a life in which no one ever knew about his and his twin’s talent. </p><p>“If you want, I could lend you my headphones. You could put on a few songs in a different language. Maybe that would help?” Logan offered. He had brought the headphones along incase he got a headache and could listen to whale sounds that he still wasn’t sure worked but he’d read it somewhere on the internet. </p><p>So at about two o’clock in the morning, Logan fished out his headphones to give to Roman as he finally settled down for the night, listening to a playlist he’d made from recommendations of people he’d met all around the world. </p><p>The melodies sung in a variety of languages calmed his mind, created a looser feel as the stresses of having spoken English for most of the day unwrapped from his brain. He’d always been the most uncomfortable with English, maybe because it wasn’t even in the first ten languages he learned, maybe because he was expected by everyone but his twin to speak it regularly. He didn’t feel that with the other 42 languages. They’d always felt better on his tongue. </p><p>Remus once told him that his world sounded sharp and awkward when spoken in English. Many people had expressed that he sounded rude and snappy when really it was just his disconnection with the language. </p><p> </p><p>...bona nit, Remus....</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Game</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Remus finds his own way to fall asleep and the boys wake up to their first day at this strange school.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sheer curtain could only act as a thin barrier for the pale moonlight streaming through the window. It shone, casting a natural glow across the small room and Remus could only lie there and watch as it bounced off of the boy in the bed across the room- his own complexion not dissimilar to the moon’s own colour. </p><p>Remus picked at the blanket under his fingertips, digging his digits into the woollen patchwork. His mind raced faster than his mouth did in waking hours. Scrolling through languages within the confines of his mind did nothing to help the pounding in his brain, he just wanted it to stop. </p><p>Despite that, Remus would lie there festering for hours rather than wake up Virgil. A bit because he was terrified that the boy would karate chop and backflip him through the window. Mostly because he didn’t want anyone to know that he couldn’t sleep without his brother as a safety blanket. He was sixteen for god’s sake! He could live without his brother...</p><p>His gaze eventually fell on his outstretched arm, focusing on the way the veins slightly raised and lowered as blood pumped through them. He enjoyed the contrast between his warm toned skin and the cold lines running through it. </p><p>Remus untucked the other side of his bed, fetching his other hand to bring and place on the wrist which had gained his attention. The thump beneath his fingers was constant and managed to replace the buzzing feeling. </p><p>Deciding to think of that instead, eventually Remus managed to fall asleep.</p><p>—————</p><p>8 am rolled around soon enough, and as soon as the clock hand reached its target the curtains were flung open in each of the boys’ rooms. </p><p>“Time to get up, boys. We have day full of activities to get to!” Thomas called from the hallway connecting the dorms. </p><p>Logan, Janus and Patton were up and ready within five or so minutes- used to earlier waking times and actually revelling in the lie-in. </p><p>Virgil and the twins were not so pleased. Virgil was still rolling around in bed by the time 8:30 passed, putting the middle finger up to anyone who dared come close, but not close enough for him to break their arm. The twins were on their feet, barely, but looked dead to this world, a third jet lagged- a third tired from the late night- a third unused to waking before mid-day. </p><p>It took until 9 am for everyone to be sat down at the table and eating. </p><p>“Que faisons-nous aujourd’hui?” Roman mumbled into the table.</p><p>“... could you translate?” Janus tentatively asked Remus who looked about two seconds away from nose diving into his cereal. </p><p>“Oh, desolé... uhh sorry... French is my sleepy language. It’s a very nighttime language- no?” Roman said, having tuned into Janus’s comment, “I said ‘What are we doing today?’.” Having finished his sentence, Roman proceeded to face plant back into the table. </p><p>“Well, we’ll be getting to know each other a bit more. You’ll be living together for half a year so being complete strangers might be a bit weird. So, first is a bit of a team building game. We’ve set up an escape room in the games room.” Thomas said, putting his bowl in the sink. </p><p>“There’s a games room in this mansion?” Janus said. </p><p>“Second floor, fifth door on the left.” Logan said, “I found it on my way to the bathroom last night.” </p><p>By the time he finished his sentence, Patton and the twins, with their new found energy, raced up the stairs, following the nerd’s direction. Virgil dragged himself up next, kicking each of the stairs on the way up, no one was truly sure if it was intentional or not. Finally after collecting the plates between them and placing them by the sink to be washed, the remaining two waltzed up after their peers. </p><p>“Sh!t.” The pair heard from somewhere inside the room, neither surprised that something had happened without the two main braincells in the vicinity. </p><p>“Want to bet who said that?” Janus asked.</p><p>“One of the twins.” Both said in unison, nodding to each other before opening the door. </p><p>They were right. </p><p>Looking into the room, the pair saw Remus with his hands stuck in a box, kneeling on the floor and attempting to shake the trap off, which obviously didn’t work. </p><p>“What the hell did you do?” Logan asked.</p><p>“Remus saw a box and put his hands in it and can’t get his hands back out.” Patton said.</p><p>“What did I expect?” Logan said, very close to face palming. </p><p>“Remus not to be an idiot?” Roman asked from his place beside his brother as he tried to help him out of the cage.</p><p>“No... not that.” </p><p>Thomas appeared at the door way, leaning on the wood and smiling at the scene, “This is your challenge. The clues to get Remus out of that box are all in this room.” </p><p>“Can we leave him there and all go back to our rooms?” Janus said from his place near the door, folding his arms and a hundred percent up for leaving Remus to starve. </p><p>“Not exactly. Mostly because the second key to this room is in that box as well.” And with that, Thomas shut the door in Logan’s face and the distinct sound of a lock clicking into place followed it.</p><p>So, with one of their members incapacitated, the remaining five looked around the room for clues as the light above them flickered and obnoxiously loud game music played from each of the fun-fair attractions surrounding them. </p><p>“Where do we start?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Weirdest Dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Blinding white lights flicked on an equally cold empty room, it looked like it could go on forever as the medically clean floors stretched on in the same shade as the walls and ceiling, the only indication of the edge of the void was the line where floor met wall. In the middle of the floor, free to move about as he pleased laid the missing brother- unharmed but unguarded. </p><p>The boy looked small in his surroundings, huddled as though around a pillow, completely unaware of his surroundings. </p><p>That was until his opened his eyes. </p><p>“Remus?” Roman called out, scanning the area as he raised himself up to a sitting position. His head still throbbing and his arms felt weak under him, “Thomas?” </p><p>His eyes widened as a screen, once camouflaged into the wall flicked on, shooting blinding lights of all colours into his eyes. He covered his eyes with trembling hands, burying his face in his lap.</p><p>“Don’t panic Roman, we can still get to you even if you don’t look.” A voice echoed around the room, sinister and emotionless. It was familiar and yet so foreign. </p><p>“N-no! Stop it! I- I-“ Wrapping his arms around his entire head, Roman tried again to encase his brain, screaming into his sleeves, keeping out the temptation to look and be overcome yet again. </p><p>“Just look.” The voice said yet again morphing into a cruel carbon copy of his twin, yet Roman knew he wasn’t there, “It will all be over if you look.” <br/>———<br/>Remus shot up from his resting place, head laying over the box that still encased his hands, careful not to show signs of his nightmare to the others searching around the room. </p><p>A few hours had already passed and the group had managed three of the four number so far, yet the final one still remained a mystery until Patton found a slip of paper hidden behind one of the games. They didn’t try to guess as every incorrect answer sent shockwaves up Remus’s arms and although both Virgil and Janus found it quite funny, Remus and Patton found it less so. </p><p>“What starts with e, ends with e, and only has one letter?” Logan read out. </p><p>“Eeeeeeeee?” Roman held out, not really in tune with riddles. </p><p>“Envelope!” Patton shouted out, “My Grandma loves to look up riddles on the internet!” </p><p>“Envelope? There’s no envelope in this room... we checked everywhere.” Roman said.</p><p>“In Kurdish envelope is zerf... which is close to zero. I guess...” Remus said, hitting the key against the side of the contraption incase it managed to break it. </p><p>“Is that just at the forefront of your mind at all times?” Janus asked.</p><p>“Yes, actually I was just brushing up on my postal knowledge around the world last night.” Remus said, “Of course not. Roman and I did volunteer work at a post office when we lived in Iraq for a month.” </p><p>“Do you really think that the team behind this risked your freedom on the off chance you knew what envelope is in Kurdish?” Janus said snidely. </p><p>“I was just saying...” Remus tried to put his hands up in defence but could only manage to flex his fingers. </p><p>“Well... what about the numbers on the game Patton found it behind, the highest score is 628. So the sixth letter in envelope is O, then N for the second, then the eighth is E. O-N-E. 1.” Logan sat back with a smile on his face. </p><p>“You’re a genius Logan!” Patton laughed, patting Logan on the back.</p><p>“I know.” Logan sat, smiling in a way that dimples poked out the bottom of his cheeks but his mouth corners barely tilted up. </p><p>Roman filed in the numbers into the contraption around his brothers wrists, revelling in the click as the box fell in two. Janus snatched up the key that fell onto the floor, slotting it into the keyhole and turning. </p><p>“Freedom!” Remus came barrelling through the door, his twin giving chase soon afterwards. They cackled as they ran down the hall, coming close to knocking very expensive objects off of podiums. One particularly became mortally close to the edge before Virgil put his hand in the way to stop it, his reflexes coming to the forefront of his mind. </p><p>Thomas stood at the end of the corridor, unfazed by the chaos the twins were causing, “Well done boys! You’re done for today, you have free reign of the grounds. I only advise you to try and mix between your little bubbles, other than that-“ Thomas was stopped in his tracks as all the boys left to explore a bit more.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Quick note: if anyone reading this knows the proper translations for anything above, please let me know and I will change it. I just used the limited knowledge of Spanish and French resources I have- other than that Google translate is my friend. </p><p>Thanks for reading this- I’m really excited about this story and where it will go- I hope you are too. Xx</p></blockquote></div></div>
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